Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen reveals the reason behind his recent absence from the group's co-headlining North American tour with Journey.
Back on May 25th, Collen had to step off the tour in Hershey, PA to deal with "a family emergency" with the group brought in Trixter guitarist Steve Brown to handle his duties.
Collen says his departure to be with family was due to complications his wife, Helen, endured while giving birth to the couple's son, Jackson. He explains, "She actually died and they brought her back to life. There was internal bleeding and just craziness. I obviously had to go to California to be with her."
Collen says he was confident that Brown - who filled in for Lep guitarist Vivian Campbell while he underwent cancer treatment in 2014 - would be able to jump in for him on short notice.
Brown said, "When your friends or you family need help, you do what you need to do to make it happen. Give me an hour to pack my bags, and I was there within four hours."
Mom and baby are doing just fine...and it's pretty rad they named the kid after Phil's guitar brand of choice!